Burton Advocates for Putting a Price on Carbon

June 18, 2018

Anja Semanco

Here at POW, we are honored to work with a number of dedicated brands who have looked beyond their bottom line to the bigger picture of a stable climate and a healthy world. One such brand that stands as an example to its industry is Burton. We applaud the steps that Burton is taking to not just advocate for a stable climate, but to use their platform to raise awareness on carbon pricing in their home state of Vermont.

In December 2017, Donna Carpenter, CEO of Burton wrote in the Burlington Free Press that, “Forty years from now, we want people to still be able to fall in love with winter. That’s why we’re committed to supporting what a growing number of countries, states, and businesses have identified as the best solution to climate change and our dwindling snowpack – putting a price on carbon pollution.”

Carpenter explains that Burton has decided to put their energy into supporting carbon pricing after seeing more than one million square miles of snowpack disappear from North America since 1970. Using the disappearing snowpack as a catalyst for action, Carpenter says Burton has a responsibility to protect where they play through carbon pricing initiatives in their home-state of Vermont.

“We are committed to doing something about climate change,” says Carpenter. “And we feel the most effective thing is to put a price on carbon.”

These kinds of initiatives are exactly the kind of climate change solutions POW is working to inspire within the outdoor industry. A partner of POW since 2011, Burton has been committed to their people, their products, and their playground since the company was founded in 1977. Pushing for carbon pricing initiatives was the logical next step in keeping with their sustainability mission.

“We at Burton really feel that the only way we’re going to [stop climate change] is by putting a price on carbon,” says Carpenter. “We need to stop taking fossil fuels out of the earth and this is the best way to incentivize everybody to do it.”

At POW, we’re working to enact policy that will set an economy-wide price on carbon. We love seeing leaders, like Burton, lead the way in the outdoor industry on the issues that affect where we live and play. Learn more about Burton’s commitment to sustainability here and POW’s carbon pricing efforts here.